South China Sea

South China Sea
Satellite image of South China Sea
South China Sea Show map of South China Sea South China Sea Show map of Southeast Asia South China Sea Show map of Asia
The northeastern portion of South China Sea
Location	East Asia and Southeast Asia
Coordinates	12°N 113°E / 12°N 113°E / 12; 113
Type	Sea
Part of	Pacific Ocean
River sources	Agno Jiulong Kapuas Mekong Min Pahang Pampanga Pasig Pearl Rajang Red Sambas
Basin countries	List Brunei China Indonesia Malaysia Philippines Taiwan Vietnam
Surface area	3,500,000 square kilometres (1,400,000 sq mi)
Islands	List of islands in South China Sea
Trenches	Manila Trench
Settlements	Major cities Alaminos Bà Rịa Bạc Liêu Bacoor Balanga Batam Bintulu Cẩm Phả Cam Ranh Candon Cavite City Da Nang Dagupan Đồng Hới Hạ Long Hà Tĩnh Haikou Haiphong Ho Chi Minh City Hội An Hong Kong Kaohsiung Kota Kinabalu Kuala Terengganu Kuantan Kuching Laoag Las Piñas Macau Malolos Manila Mersing Miri Móng Cái Nakhon Si Thammarat Nam Định Nanwan Navotas Nha Trang Olongapo Parañaque Pasay Pattaya Pekan Phan Rang–Tháp Chàm Phan Thiết Quảng Ngãi Qui Nhơn Sầm Sơn San Fernando Sanya Shantou Sihanoukville Sóc Trăng Surat Thani Tainan Taitung Tam Kỳ Tanjungpinang Thái Bình Thanh Hóa Tuy Hòa Vigan Vũng Tàu Xiamen Zhanjiang

The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luzon, Mindoro and Palawan), and in the south by Borneo, eastern Sumatra and the Bangka Belitung Islands, encompassing an area of around 3,500,000 km² (1,400,000 sq mi). It communicates with the East China Sea via the Taiwan Strait, the Philippine Sea via the Luzon Strait, the Sulu Sea via the straits around Palawan, and the Java Sea via the Karimata and Bangka Straits. The Gulf of Thailand and the Gulf of Tonkin are part of the South China Sea.

$3.4 trillion of the world's $16 trillion maritime shipping passed through South China Sea in 2016. Oil and natural gas reserves have been found in the area. The Western Central Pacific accounted for 14% of world's commercial fishing in 2010.

The South China Sea Islands, collectively comprising several archipelago clusters of mostly small uninhabited islands, islets (cays and shoals), reefs/atolls and seamounts numbering in the hundreds, are subject to competing claims of sovereignty by several countries. These claims are also reflected in the variety of names used for the islands and the sea.